Trump brags he was 'always the best athlete' ahead of first presidential physical

(Image credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

published 12 January 2018

President Trump wants to remind everyone that he was "always the best athlete," a comment made during a Thursday sit-down with reporters from The Wall Street Journal. Never one to hold back from tooting his own horn, portions of Trump's conversation read as self-congratulatory raves:

Mr. Trump: Just — and so — so I was successful, successful, successful. I was always the best athlete, people don't know that. But I was successful at everything I ever did and then I run for president, first time — first time, not three times, not six times. I ran for president first time and lo and behold, I win. And then people say oh, is he a smart person? I'm smarter than all of them put together, but they can't admit it. They had a bad year. [The Wall Street Journal]

Although there might be one or two people in line in front of Trump for the "best athlete" designation, in his youth the president was reportedly not too shabby at baseball. "We had scouts from the [Philadelphia] Phillies to watch him, but he wanted to go to college and make real money," his former high school coach told Rolling Stone.

Those days seem to be behind him, though, The Washington Post reports. Trump, who will undergo the first physical of his presidency today, is "the heaviest president in at least a generation" and "he seems to get little exercise beyond swinging a golf club, as he spends most of his time on the course traveling in an electric cart," the Post observes.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.